ix'->r>.^ 157 



Whilst on the subject of tlie Blcroramplice, I may as well draw 

 attention to a small mine, more commonly empty than full, that T have 

 at various times in the autumn found in the stems of yarrow, because 

 I feel pretty sure it belongs here. The larva usually enters at the 

 site of an eye, runs a very narrow mine for about an inch down the 

 pith chamber, and leaves. What then becomes of it I cannot tell. 

 I suspect it crawls down to the root, and there takes on the form and 

 habits of some well known Dlcrornmpha. Although the genus is 

 essentially a root-feeder, probably the young larvae of all, or nearly 

 all, the species inhabit at first the stalks, or it may even be the flower- 

 receptacles, of their food-plants. Indeed, I did on one occasion see 

 a Dicrorampha lay an egg on the scales of the flower of an oxeye 

 daisy, but was unable to ascertain the species. 



Pamplusia mercuriana, Hb. — It is hardly justifiable, perhaps, 

 to describe a Tortrix larva from a single specimen, especially where 

 the form is extremely commonplace. The following has stood in my 

 note book for a long time, waiting for that further confirmation which 

 has not yet come, and I transcribe it for what it may be worth : — 

 " Cylindrical, of nearly uniform bulk, semi-transparent, and of a dirty 

 greyish-green, with a tinge of yellow on the ventral surface ; head 

 shining, pale brown ; thoracic plate darker than the head, grey, with 

 the hind-margin black ; anal plate ochreous, sjjots inconspicuous*."* 



The larva fed on heather {Calluna vul(](iris), tying the shoots, if 

 my memory is correct, tightly together. It was taken on the Here- 

 fordshire part of the Black Mountains, the 22ud of June, i8SS, and 

 the moth emerged on July 18th. The occurrence of this charming 

 little insect so far south was a pleasant surprise ; a specimen of the 

 imago has been picked up occasionally since, but it is certainly not com- 

 mon. The locality is a long, flat-topped hill, 2000 ft. or thereabouts 

 above the sea level, and having the flora characteristic of such a 

 situation. Besides mercuriana, such northern forms as Amphisa 

 gerningana, Peronea caledoniana, Nemophora pilella, Argyresthla sor- 

 biella, Gelechia longicornis and politella, together with Elachista 

 kilmunella, LifhocoUetis v a cciniella, and Ncpticiila TVeaveri,gh'e a day's 

 collecting on this ground a singular fascination to one accustomed only 

 to a southern and lowland fauna. Doubtless many another good thing 

 is yet to be added to the list, but the spot being at least half a day's 

 journey distant, only a visit at rare intervals can be managed, and 

 weather, moreover, has to be discounted, for seldom can an absolutely 

 perfect day fall on such bleak and elevated ground. 



